One More Chance
by MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: After returning from Romania a few years after the war, Charlie is tasked with watching Bill's young daughters. He soon learns, however, that he might have bitten off more than he can chew.


**A/N: Hey y'all, this was written for QLFC and Hogwarts. Prompts are below. :)**

**Captain: Write about someone in charge of something/someone**

**Word Count: 2019**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling. **

**Thanks to Lucy for beta'ing!**

**Enjoy!**

Charlie looked at his brother's front door with trepidation. He'd only returned from Romania the night before—this was the first time he'd see his nieces and nephew in person.

He still couldn't quite believe that Bill was a father. It was almost too wild to think about.

Summoning all the Gryffindor courage he possessed, Charlie knocked on the door. A moment later, his older brother opened it, all smiles. Charlie's own grin faltered; he still wasn't used to seeing those new scars marring Bill's face. It reminded him of the war he didn't fight in, not like the rest of his family had.

He wondered if that made him a coward.

"Charlie!" Bill's blue eyes shone brightly. "Come in, come in—Fleur's just finishing up getting ready, then we'll leave you to it. Thanks again for agreeing to watch the kids."

Charlie shrugged and adjusted his robes, the humid air suddenly unbearable. "It's no problem. Can I—?"

Bill stepped out of the doorway. "Of course."

Charlie slid past him, taking in the cottage as he entered. It was clear a family lived here; there were many framed photographs of two blonde girls and some finger paintings on the walls—neon green, pink, and blue, some streaks still dripping. Bill followed his brother's gaze and sighed.

"Dominique fancies herself an artist," he explained sheepishly. Charlie laughed.

Just then, Fleur joined the two men. She was pregnant for the third time, just beginning to show. "Oh, 'ello!" she greeted, her accent thick. "Charlie, it's so good to see you."

He returned the hug she gave him. "I'm so happy to finally meet you in person! How are you feeling?"

Fleur tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Fine at ze moment." She smiled at him, then turned to shout behind her. "Dominique! Victoire! Uncle Charlie is 'ere."

The pounding of footsteps sounded, and two blonde girls appeared in the entryway. Fleur introduced Victoire first, the oldest, whose freckled arms were just like Charlie's; then she moved to Dominique, whose dimple must have been inherited from Charlie's mother.

They looked terribly clever, which filled Charlie with a sense of foreboding.

Bill knelt down to hug his daughters, clinging on despite their attempts to wriggle away. "Thanks again, Charlie. Fleur and I haven't had a night to ourselves in ages—I'm only sorry that we scheduled it the night after you arrived back in England…"

Charlie waved his words aside. "It's fine, Bill. It's about time I saw these two properly, anyway."

Bill grinned gratefully, then looped his arm through his wife's. "See you in a few hours, then."

Charlie nodded. "See you."

As they left, he heard Fleur mutter, "Are you sure 'e will be all right?"

Bill's response sounded confident. "Of course. The man's wrangled dragons, love. What's two girls compared to that?"

Fleur snorted right before the door shut. "Zat poor man, zey're going to eat 'im alive."

* * *

She was right, as it turned out. Very, very right.

"You're not the boss of me," three-year-old Dominique announced as soon as her parents were gone. Judging by the tone of her voice, she believed it to be an indisputable fact.

Undeterred (he had five younger siblings, after all), Charlie crossed his arms. "Until you're parents return, I am."

Victoire came to his aid. She was only two years older than Dominique, but clearly felt a sense of superiority. "Daddy said Uncle Charlie is in charge, _remember?_"

Dominique pouted, but didn't argue. First obstacle, conquered.

"You two play here for a couple minutes. I'm going to fix dinner, then we can tackle the evening together, yeah?"

Without waiting for a response, Charlie searched for the kitchen. Once he found it, he got to work. He wasn't there long, however, when a crash sounded.

Charlie raced back into the sitting room, his brown eyes quickly locking onto the frozen girls, then the broken vase. He hurried over, whipping out his wand. He cast a quick _reparo_, muttering under his breath. "It was ninety whole seconds! You guys can't stand still for ninety whole seconds?"

He noticed then that they were watching him closely for a reaction. He suddenly realized how out of practice at this he was—what was the proper punishment? Should he even dole one out?

It had been over a decade since he'd been around small children. He felt a bit lost. _Zey're going to eat 'im alive._

He tried sounding stern. "You need to be more careful, girls."

It didn't feel like enough, but the girls nodded. Dominique was bouncing on the balls of her feet like she was about to take off running, and Charlie had taken care of enough young dragons to recognize early signs of destruction. He needed a distraction, fast.

"Dominique, Victoire. Go sit down at the table, and once we're finished eating, we can play outside, okay? Dragons, knights, princesses…"

The blue-eyed girls brightened at the promise of the game, and scrambled to get to their respective seats, bickering and pushing along the way. Charlie shook his head fondly, recalling a time he and his brothers had acted in a similar manner.

He returned to the kitchen and managed to heat up some of Bill and Fleur's leftovers before his nieces lost interest. They dug in, and Charlie sighed, relieved.

"Uncle Charlie?"

He glanced over. "Yeah, Dominique?"

Her messy fingers patted a burn mark on his elbow gently. "What's that?"

He grinned a little. "That's a scar I got in Romania. I was trying to help a sick dragon, but she got scared. I was reaching for her when—boom!—she blew fire all over me."

Dominique and Victoire's eyes were wide. "Really?" the older girl breathed out. "Did it hurt?"

"A bit," Charlie admitted. "But she was small, so it was easy to get out of the way. There were some great Healers nearby, too."

They looked awed. "_Wow_."

He told them about his adventures. He made sound effects when necessary, gesturing with his hands, and his nieces didn't disappoint. They were a very involved audience, and seemed to love listening as much as he loved telling the story.

After a while, Charlie herded them outside to play, as promised. He transfigured a stick into a shield for Dominique and helped Victoire braid her hair back. Then Charlie hunched over and let out a roar, grabbing Victoire and hoisting her over his shoulder. Dominique, giggling, chased after him on her tiny legs. He was playing a dragon, Dominique a knight, Victoire a princess; it was _fun_.

It was still humid, but now the clouds were covering the sun, so it wasn't as hot as it could have been. Still, the girls tired of the active game quickly, and Victoire suggested something a bit more laid back.

"On the count of three, Dominique and me will hide," she said, her bossy tone almost comical in her childish voice. "Okay, Uncle Charlie?"

He bit back a grin. "Okay."

Dominique giggled and took her sister's hands. "One—"

"_No_, Dominique, Uncle Charlie has to—"

He quickly covered his eyes. "Two. Three. Do what you gotta do, girls."

They ran away, laughing, and Charlie waited until their giggling faded away before going after them. He walked through the grassy fields slowly, scanning for any signs of his nieces.

Dominique wasn't difficult to find. She'd climbed a tree with low-hanging limbs and was gripping the trunk tightly. Charlie hurried over, grateful that she'd only managed to get two feet off the ground, and quickly scooped her up. She sighed dejectedly in his arms. "Victoire always wins," she complained with a scowl.

Charlie smiled sympathetically. "So did your dad."

As it turned out, Victoire was an excellent hider. Charlie and Dominique searched the yard, looking up trees and behind bushes. Dominique insisted she didn't know where her sister was, and Charlie felt panic beginning to bubble up.

"Victoire!" he shouted desperately after searching the property. "Victoire, the game's over!"

No response. Charlie ran his hands through his red hair, trying to regain control of his senses. This wasn't good. His older brother had trusted him with his _daughters_, and he'd barely lasted three hours before he'd lost one of them…

Maybe he wasn't cut out for this—this responsibility. It was the absolute worst time to have a self-revelation, but Charlie realized that he always ran from responsibilities that scared him. The old war, his brother's kids… Dragons, he understood. Human beings were harder.

Dominique tightened her grip around his neck, and her voice was small when she spoke. "Did we lose her?"

Charlie closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. It was a skill he'd had to learn while working with dragons; they responded violently to negative emotions. _Break it down,_ he ordered himself. _Think_. He was a Gryffindor for a reason—he wouldn't let himself succumb to fear. Not this time.

Victoire could not have gotten far, he reasoned. He'd run off during games many times as a child, and it wasn't a failing on his parents' part—it was just so easy to get caught up in the adventure. Maybe it was the same for Victoire. He just needed to figure out which way she had gone, and go from there.

"We'll find her," he promised his youngest niece. "Where does she like to go?"

"The beach," Dominique replied promptly.

That's right, Charlie thought. On the other side of Shell Cottage, there was a cliff that dropped down to a beach. Plenty of things to hide behind, and far out enough that she wouldn't have been able to hear his calls.

He set off quickly, and was careful not to lose his footing when the grass turned into sand. He found a path that led down to the shore and followed it, hoping that the little girl would be there.

"Victoire?"

Her head popped up from behind a large rock beside the cliff face. "Hi, Uncle Charlie!"

His shoulders sagged with relief.

* * *

"So. Who set fire to my kitchen?"

Charlie leapt up from the sofa, his eyes widening as Bill came into view. "What? I don't—"

His older brother burst out laughing. "Calm down, Charlie. I was only joking." He caught sight of his daughters putting together a puzzle on the floor. "Hello, my lovely young ladies!"

They ran to him, grinning, and he embraced them tightly. Fleur entered the house soon after that, and took her turn with the girls. Bill turned to Charlie, his fang earring catching the light.

"So." He clapped a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "What'd I miss?"

Charlie thought about lying to him. But… then what? Would Bill entrust him with the children once more, only to find that this time, Victoire had _not_ been found?

"I think maybe… I'm not sure I should watch them anymore," he confessed quietly.

Bill's brows rose up in shock. "What? Why? What happened?"

"I… I lost Victoire." Charlie felt shame flush his face and neck and looked down, avoiding eye contact. "We were playing hide-and-seek, and I couldn't find her for a long time… she was down by the beach—"

"Oh." Understanding dawned in Bill's blue eyes. "She loves it down there—she's snuck out of the house before, just to watch the waves. It's like she's a little Fred and George without the destruction. I forgot to tell you. I'm sorry she frightened you." He cast a disapproving look toward the girl.

Charlie shrugged a little, slightly relieved that this wasn't something unique to him. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd failed to properly take care of her.

"You're not mad?"

"No." Bill looked at him seriously. "Hey. Charlie. It's okay. She's fine. It was one time; it doesn't make you a bad guardian." A twinkle appeared in Bill's eye. "More experience will prove that to you, okay? Don't give up on yourself yet." Charlie didn't respond, so he continued. "I'm glad you've come back for a while. Home with us. Where you belong."

Charlie smiled slowly. Bill was right; he should give himself a chance. Stop letting down his family and finally be brave again.

"Me too."

**A/N: **

**Writing Club:**

**Assorted Appreciation: 10. Killian — alt. (dialogue) "It was ninety whole seconds! You guys can't stand still for ninety whole seconds?"**

**Disney Challenge: Characters 6. Write about an animal lover**

**Trope of the Month: 15. (plot point) write about a group of people**

**All Sorts of Space: 15. (action) running away **

**Book Club: Maya — (relationship) younger sister, (dialogue) "Home with us. Where you belong.", (feature) dimple**

**Showtime: 33. I Know Him — (action) laughing**

**Amber's Attic: 33. "That poor man, they're going to eat him alive."**

**Liza's Loves: 6. Subrace - Wood Elf — alt. Write about someone who is good at hiding**

**Angel's Arcade: 6. Reinhardt — (word) undeterred, (item) shield, (emotion) confidence**

**Scamander's Case: 18. (weather) cloudy**

**Film Festival: 16. (color) green**

**Marvel Appreciation: Power Stone: 3. (dialogue) "You're not the boss of me."**

**Seasonal Challenges:**

**Days of the Year: 26th July — Write about an aunt or uncle with their niece or nephew**

**Summer: 4. (word) humid**

**Colors: 10. Neon green**

**Birthstones: 3. Peridot — (dialogue) "One—" / "Two. Three. Do what you gotta do."**

**Fire: 18. (dialogue) "Who set fire to my kitchen?"**

**Mix It Up: Charlie Weasley, lost**

**Gryffindor: 6. Charlie Weasley**

**Fortnightly:**

**Canadian Craze: 4. Victoire Weasley **

**Ham Jam: Thomas Jefferson — (dialogue) "What'd I miss?"**

**Southern Funfair: Hook a Pygmy Puff: Beatrix — (color) green**

**Northern Funfair: Photo Booth: Wedding Theme (2/4): (action) eating**

**Eastern Funfair: Gnome Throwing: Fleur Delacour (wc: 2019)**

**365 Words: 29. Wriggle**

**Scavenger Hunt: Write something exactly 2019 words**

**Insane House Challenge: 125. (plot point) searching for something missing**


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